NY YANKEES: 2017: 91-71, second place, wild card, lost to Houston in ALCS.
MANAGER: Aaron Boone (first season).
ADDITIONS: OF Giancarlo Stanton, 2B Neil Walker, 3B Brandon Drury.
SUBTRACTIONS: Manager Joe Girardi, 2B Starlin Castro, 3B-1B Chase Headley, 3B Todd Frazier, DH Matt Holliday, LHP Jaime Garcia.
OUTLOOK: New York figures to score a lot and strike out a lot, a reason the Yankees signed the switch-hitting, high-contact Walker during spring training. Drury also was a late addition, enabling New York to start prospects Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar in the minors. Betances faded in the second half last season, struggling with his mechanics and control and diminishing from a four-time All-Star to a mop-up man. After a pair of injury-decimated seasons, Bird is being counted on as a left-handed power bat in the middle of the batting order who can prevent opponents from bringing in right-handed relievers to attack Judge, Stanton and Sanchez. Hicks missed nearly half of last season with oblique injuries but has displaced Jacoby Ellsbury as the regular center fielder. Having never managed or coached at any level, Boone succeeded Girardi and must establish with players and the public that he knows what he is doing.

MIAMI: 2017 77-85, second place
MANAGER Don Mattingly (third season)
ADDITIONS: INF Starlin Castro, CF Lewis Brinson, OF Cameron Maybin, 1B Garrett Cooper, RHP Jacob Turner, OF-1B Scott Van Slyke, RHP Jumbo Diaz, RHP Sandy Alcantara
SUBTRACTIONS: RF Giancarlo Stanton, LF M
OUTLOOK: New CEO Derek Jeter is accustomed to winning, but that is about to change. He traded away half of last year's starting lineup, including the NL MVP in Stanton, which means the Marlins are rebuilding yet again. Even with an entirely new outfield, the offense could be decent. But Castro and Realmuto are potential trade bait and might be gone before August, and the season will almost surely end Sept. 30, leaving the Marlins out of the playoffs for the 15th year in a row. This season is really about developing prospects acquired in those offseason trades, and if youngsters such as Brinson and Alcantara perform well, 2018 will be considered a successful start for Jeter.arcell Ozuna, CF Christian Yelich, 2B Dee Gordon, RHP Tom Koehler, OF Ichiro Suzuki, RHP Dustin McGowan, C A.J. Ellis

PREVIEW

Yankees' Stanton faces Marlins for first time in Miami since trade

MIAMI -- When the New York Yankees visit the Miami Marlins on Tuesday for the start of a two-game series, much of the attention will be on the return of right fielder/DH Giancarlo Stanton.

A four-time All-Star, Stanton starred for the Marlins last year, leading the league in homers (59), RBIs (132) and slugging percentage (.631). He was named the National League MVP after his incredible 2017 season and yet the Marlins dumped his huge contract this past winter, trading him to the Yankees for second baseman Starlin Castro and two prospects.

Stanton, who is battling through hamstring pain, is expecting the unexpected in this brief series in Miami.

"Walking in and going to the visitors' side of the dugout (at Marlins Park) will be weird," Stanton said. "But I'm looking forward to it -- (Miami) was a big part of my life. It will be a cool experience."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he expects this to be emotional for Stanton.

"He's going back to a city where he grew up in a lot of ways," Boone said. "He came up through their system, made the major leagues and became the face of their franchise.

"From what I've seen of him the past four or five months, I think he will handle it pretty well."

Stanton, whose OPS is down from a career-best 1.007 last year to .896 this season, is batting .285 with 26 doubles, 32 homers and 80 RBIs in 123 games.

He is being relied on more than usual at the moment because the Yankees are without three injured starters who combined to hit 110 homers last season -- catcher Gary Sanchez, shortstop Didi Gregorius and right fielder Aaron Judge.

Sanchez (groin injury) could return by the end of this month. Judge (fractured right wrist) will be out until at least early September. Gregorius, who has a left-heel contusion, could return this week but likely not Tuesday.

"There's nothing broken, but he's got a significant bruise," Boone said of Gregorius. "There is swelling in there."

Perhaps those injuries might level the playing field a bit between the Yankees (78-46, second place in the American League East) and the Marlins (50-76, last place in the NL East).

Lopez, 22, struggled in his most recent start, allowing six runs in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Atlanta Braves.

A 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from Venezuela, Lopez has a respectable WHIP of 1.17 in his eight major-league starts.

But since making his big-league debut on June 30 with a win over the New York Mets, Lopez has never had either three consecutive poor starts or three straight quality outings. What Lopez is or can be as a pitcher has yet to be determined.

Tanaka, a 6-3, 215-pounder from Japan who turns 30 in November, is much more established, posting a 61-32 record and a 3.62 ERA in five major-league seasons.

He is one victory from his fifth consecutive double-figure-win season. Batters are hitting .232 against him this season, and his WHIP is 1.12.

Tanaka has been much better on the road than at home this year, posting a 6-0 record and a 3.86 ERA when not inside Yankee Stadium. He is 3-4 with a 4.27 ERA at home.

That could bode well for Tuesday's start. However, Tanaka wants to reverse a trend that saw him dominate in July (2-0, 1.75 ERA) but struggle so far in August (0-3, 5.17 ERA in three starts).

Watch out for Marlins first baseman Derek Dietrich on Tuesday. In six career at-bats against Tanaka, he is batting .667 with a home run and two RBIs.

As for the Yankees' lineup without their injured stars, expect second baseman Gleyber Torres to slide over to shortstop. Neil Walker will likely start at second base. Catcher Austin Romine has passed concussion protocol and should start behind the plate.

New York's outfield, left to right, could be Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Stanton.

"I think we've responded well," Stanton said when asked about the injuries. "It's a good test for us to play well when we are not at our full potential. I think other guys will step up."